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What to Expect advice

My DD just turned a year last week and I was reading in What to Expect the Toddler Years what it says about weaning & when to do it. It lists several reasons you should wean at a year, like that the milk doesn't have nutritional value, the child will become too dependent, it's harder to wean an older child than a 12 month old, even that extended BF may cause health problems. Well, my copy of that book is about 10 years old, so I thought in the newer editions, it would have changed. But I went to the library and looked and the newer edition still lists all those things. It just makes me sad. On the other hand, I think it's becoming more accepted and seen as beneficial by more doctors now. But I guess there's still a long way to go.

Re: What to Expect advice

Hi milkfacesmom,
Happy birthday to your dd!
Are you looking for information about weaning or extended breastfeeding? LLL would recommend other books for information, such as Mothering Your Nursing Toddler by Norma Jame Bumgarner, How Weaning Happens by Diane Bengson, The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning by Kathleen Huggins and Linda Zeidrich, or LLL's own Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.
There's a reason why What to Expect the Toddler Years isn't in the LLL Bibliography or catalog! There are many books out there that do discuss the health & developmental benefits of nursing beyond a year.
It's important to find a book that seems like a good fit for you.

Re: What to Expect advice

I hated What to Expect When You're Expecting so much that I never read any other books in that series. Thank you for confirming my hunch to stay far, far away from that particular book.

As LLLMaryP notes -- there are good reasons many popular books aren't in the LLL-approved bibliography. I second her recommendation of the relevant books that are in the LLL bibliography, especially Mothering Your Nursing Toddler.

Re: What to Expect advice

That's so sad b/c people trust those books a lot. I wanted to get them when I first was pregnant and for some reason every time I went to buy them I put them back and said I'll get them later, I'm glad I never did. I wonder what they base on, what type of research they used and if they have references. Again, that's so sad!

Re: What to Expect advice

I read the WTE series, have several, and for some things, they are the reference I go to, like what to do for injuries and other little things. Other things, like nursing, weaning, most definitely not.

The series does have research behind it, is written and edited by nurses and perhaps a doctor or two, but I think they selected research that backs up their points of view, which, unfortunately, is how most people view childbirth, child rearing, breastfeeding and all else family-related.

Re: What to Expect advice

Originally Posted by LLLMaryP

Hi milkfacesmom,
Happy birthday to your dd!
Are you looking for information about weaning or extended breastfeeding? LLL would recommend other books for information, such as Mothering Your Nursing Toddler by Norma Jame Bumgarner, How Weaning Happens by Diane Bengson, The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning by Kathleen Huggins and Linda Zeidrich, or LLL's own Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.
There's a reason why What to Expect the Toddler Years isn't in the LLL Bibliography or catalog! There are many books out there that do discuss the health & developmental benefits of nursing beyond a year.
It's important to find a book that seems like a good fit for you.

Mary

I was wondering if anyone had any input on my breastfed little girl who just turned 1 and only weighs 17lbs... at her 1 year check up today the doctor said she was healthy, but a little underweight??? I come from a petite fam but I am just concerned??

Re: What to Expect advice

My dd is 17 months and weighs around 17 lb (it was 16 lb 6 oz at her last checkup 2 months ago). I am very skinny, was a skinny baby myself, my husband is slender and was a slender baby ... So, our daughter is making her own weight curve (all other values are between 25th and 50th percentile) and her pediatrician is satisfied as long as she keeps gaining proportionately. Dd is a picky eater in that she only nibbles on solids and is still about 75% breastfed. She is overall very healthy, so we are not concerned. I don't think you should be either about your daughter's slender disposition